Whoever took the Crusaders coaching job after super coach Scott Robertson was always going to be on a hiding to nothing. But Rob Penney was up for the momentous challenge and despite a losing first year which sparked calls for his sacking he doesn’t believe his side was far off
Updated
Crusaders coach Rob Penney opens up on a tough first year – and the 2025 Super Rugby season
Rob Penney. Photo / Getty Images
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On the face of it, Penney was handed the keys to a Ferrari and drove it like a Bambina.
But Penney’s numbers make more sense with the addition of some other enlightening figures. The “Ferrari” was missing some vital parts – including a steering wheel.
At the core of Robertson’s success was the exceptional game management skills and endless innovation of master first five Richie Mo’unga.
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The 2023 season was his last with the Crusaders before taking up a three-year contract in Japan.
In his time at the franchise, Mo’unga grew from being a young pivot with a ton of potential to being mentioned in the same breath as Andrew Mehrtens and Dan Carter. Bear in mind that the Crusaders have never won a Super Rugby title without one of those three names in the No 10 jersey, and they’ve won 14.
Just ask Robertson how badly Mo’unga was missed in a black jersey this year. Razor had use of him in 93 (of 117) games for the Crusaders. Mo’unga was one of seven to play first five under Robertson. The other six were stop-gaps for injury or rest.
“I think, statistically, Richie has played over 80% of all the Crusaders games in the last seven years,” says Penney.
By comparison, Penney was forced to use five different pivots in 14 games.
The Crusaders knew at the end of 2022 that Mo’unga was leaving the following year, and Penney knew before he accepted the role.
“The succession plan was really good. Fergus Burke hadn’t had a lot of time in the saddle, nine starts I think for the Crusaders at 10, but he had been around the environment, had the maturity and expertise to be able to run us at 10 and we were really confident and comfortable with him,” says Penney.
Burke suffered a ruptured Achilles towards the end of the 2023 NPC for Canterbury. He wasn’t available for Penney until late in the 2024 campaign.
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“We got Rivez [Reihana] in. We had Taha Kemara here – who’s a young developing ten. Round one Rivez takes a shot [to the shoulder]. He had been doing all our preseason play, out for seven weeks,” says Penney.
David Havili and Riley Hohepa also started at 10 in 2024.
The other glaring loss from Razor’s era was Sam Whitelock. Irreplaceable in terms of experience, Whitelock played 182 times for the Crusaders. Only Wyatt Crockett has played more.
Without Whitelock, Penney would need to lean on his captain – Whitelock’s long-time second-row partner, Scott Barrett. A broken finger and then a back injury prevented that.
“I think he played five games,” says Penney.
Then his replacements were injured.
“We played the Blues with Jamie Hannah who’d just turned 22 – in his first season, calling the lineouts with Taylor Cahill just coming off the New Zealand under-20s last year at the front of the lineout. George Bell, a 21-year-old, throwing the ball in,” says Penney.
Bell went on to make his All Blacks debut this year.
Other losses from the 2023 team included two former All Blacks, barnstorming outside back Leicester Fainga’anuku and reliable midfielder Jack Goodhue.
Without the attacking genius of Richie Mo’unga, the Crusaders would need Will Jordan to step up. A shoulder injury meant he played no part in the campaign. At all.
“We had to go hunting for a replacement well beyond when you normally would,” says Penney.
They had already recruited Welsh veteran Leigh Halfpenny to add depth at the back, he too suffered an injury and missed much of the campaign.
All Black utility Brayden Ennor didn’t play a minute and front-line All Black hooker Cody Taylor played just four matches.
Still, Penney’s side almost pulled off the improbable. In those 10 losses, six of them were by seven points or fewer. The Crusaders finished ninth, two points outside of a playoffs spot. They were sixth out of 12 for tries scored (51) and defensively ranked even better. Only the Hurricanes (38), Blues (31) and Brumbies (41) conceded fewer tries than the 42 that the Crusaders defence managed. Incidentally, they were the top three sides at the end of round-robin.
Still, when you’re playing for a franchise that has won 14 titles (the Blues are the next best with five), there is a level of expectation that can’t be avoided.
“The pressure on the players was something that we tried to mitigate as much as possible because we want them to retain their confidence and belief,” says Penney – giving an insight to his style as a coach. He sees it simpler than that.
“As a human being you want to protect others. we’ve got a young coaching group who are going to be awesome. And, you know, it wasn’t easy for them going through that either. I just had to be myself.”
Penney is 60 years old and has coached high-level rugby for several decades. This season has tested him and his team.
“When we were putting back-to-back losses together, that’s not easy to retain your integrity of what you are as a person and a coach. I was so proud of the way the group stuck together because if there are any fractures or cracks emanating that would have just blown apart and it didn’t happen,” says Penney.
The closest he got to coming unglued was during a weekly media session – or at least after it had finished. Following a rigorous questioning from a TVNZ reporter, Penney was overheard on “still-live” media microphones speaking with his media manager “he’s a disgrace, that c***, who is he?”
“I reflect on it with a bit of embarrassment, to be honest,” says Penney.
“I’ve said a couple of times that first and foremost, I’m a pretty basic footy coach, you know? I get that there’s pressure points and you need to be cognisant of what the repercussions of being a leader in a group like this is. And I am. If I’m in that situation again, I’ll deal with it entirely differently,” says Penney.
Following the end-of-season review, Penney was retained for the 2025 season.
“I wouldn’t be here now. I would walk away if I felt I was a reason behind the issues [of the 2024 campaign],” says Penney.
As a player, Rob Penney was tough and uncompromising. An old-school loose forward who could ruck with the best of them.
But, as a coach?
“There’s probably a softer side. My underlying philosophy is, ‘How would I want my sons being coached’?” says Penney.
“What would I want them to come home experiencing if they were here? I mean, you’ve got to be honest, but you don’t have to be brutal about it. You can’t expect young people to grow and learn if they are oppressed and/or depressed.”
Penney’s playing career spanned two highly successful eras, finishing just before rugby went professional. He debuted as a 21-year-old in 1985 against Buller in Westport. Not long out of Christchurch’s Hornby High School, Penney played his first first-class match with a familiar face at fullback. Former All Black Kieran Keane.
“Well, Kieran Keane was actually my schoolteacher. We locked horns a couple of times,” says Penney with a smile.
“He was the First XV coach and we would play in the Wednesday comp and then I’d go back and play for Burnside on a Saturday. He was a strong character, top man,” recalls Penney.
His first Canterbury coach was also a strong character. The incomparable Alex “Grizz” Wyllie.
“A tougher man you wouldn’t meet, but he was also innovative,” says Penney.
“Grizz was an intellectual coach. Back then training was pretty basic. He got a guy in (Jim Blair) to do skill acquisition. He ended up being with the Auckland rugby team when they had the big era, the late 80s, early mid-90s – but he started with Canterbury,” says Penney.
He hopes he’s added that characteristic to his own coaching – which will soon be under scrutiny. Again.
In two months, the 2025 edition of Super Rugby kicks off with the Crusaders hosting the Hurricanes in Christchurch on Valentine’s Day.
Bar any pre-season casualties, Penney will start his second season in a much healthier position than his first. As well as new faces, his first match-day squad of the new season will see a return for many of his star players – and with it, renewed confidence for those who carried the load in 2024.
“There’s no doubt that the security of having Will Jordan and Cody Taylor right from the start and ‘Scooter’ Barrett hopefully refreshed after his titanic All Blacks campaign,” says Penney.
“Tamaiti Williams with another year under his belt. He was out of our environment for big blocks of last year. You start talking about those names being around the group more often and the security that it provides for a young, developing individual and confidence that they get,” says Penney with excitement.
While the past season may be dotted with missed opportunities, the 30th edition of Super Rugby will underline the opportunities that the Crusaders did take advantage of this year.
“The growth of people like Dallas McLeod. Chay Fihaki, I think, had a record amount of minutes in this year’s campaign. Over 2000 playing minutes,” says Penney.
Fihaki’s development came with Will Jordan and Leigh Halfpenny’s unavailability. It resulted in Fihaki being called into the All Blacks squad as injury cover as well as gaining selection for the All Blacks XV on their end-of-year tour.
Penney will also have a wealth of experience to call on at first-five – despite Fergus Burke leaving to take up a three-year contract with London club, Saracens. As well as Reihana and Kemara, he’ll have a 64-test Wallaby in his ranks.
“We got James O’Connor in this year to give us a wee bit more depth and security in that position,” says Penney.
There’s a new old face in the coaches' box as well. Brad Mooar, a former Crusaders and All Blacks assistant is back at Rugby Park to add his experience to what is a young coaching group outside of Penney.
“I’ve known Brad for a long time. When I was coaching Canterbury, Brad was doing age group stuff and we’ve kept in touch over the years. I think we’re optimistic and have a very clear, same vision on the game, which is the key,” says Penney.
He says Mooar’s role will initially be largely a supportive role. James Marshall, Matt Todd and Dan Perrin round out the group that will prepare the Crusaders next year.
“The discussions and the debates and the challenging environment we have is really refreshing. It’s great for the players because they get the benefit of those discussions,” says Penney.
“It’s one of the most stimulating groups I’ve been involved with. Very exciting.”
Regardless of how much planning that group does, Penney is well aware that there is still a major factor that is out of his control. A factor that was not his friend in 2024.
“It’s interesting listening to [Penrith Panthers coach] Ivan Cleary the other day about his experiences of winning four NRL trophies. Several times during the interview, he spoke about the part that luck plays,” says Penney.
Luck was abundant throughout the Crusaders' campaign – but it wasn’t the good kind.
“We all try to mitigate it by having depth in our squad, going through your ‘what ifs?’, but the reality is, [if] you lose your world-class players – it makes anyone vulnerable,” says Penney.
That was just one of the lessons that Penney took from a failed season. There were weekly reminders that his job is a difficult one, leading what is arguably the biggest name in the world of franchise rugby. Certainly, in the Southern Hemisphere.
“The fickle nature of coaching. I still love it though, I turn up every day energised,” says Penney, from the picnic table at Crusaders’ home training ground, Rugby Park.
But before the new season kicks off, he and his team will enjoy Christmas and New Year and a bit of summer.
“We go to the [Marlborough] Sounds. Recharge and get into the bush, get a few fish and get the pizza oven fired up. Get out on the boat, get in the water with the whole family. I’ve got a first grandchild, he’ll be two at the end of February,” says Penney.
That’ll provide the perspective he needs for the challenging year ahead.
Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.
